Judge rules hospital should release patient records

A New Hampshire judge said public health officials must be granted broad access to patient records tied to the hepatitis C outbreak at Exeter Hospital.

The hospital wanted to block access to the records unless investigators were more specific in their requests. It argued that it would be violating both state and federal law if it provided unfettered access to its records system, but a Merrimack County Superior Court judge on Thursday sided with the state.

"It's important to gather the information that's necessary to be able to track these outbreaks and to be able to stop them and to help the people who are the victims of them," Associate Attorney General Anne Edwards said.

Edwards said the judge's order gives the investigation a much-needed shot.

"They will protect patient privacy while doing that," Edwards said. "They will do the very important mission they have which is protecting the public's health."

Former hospital worker David Kwiatkowski has been charged with stealing drugs from the hospital's cardiac catheterization unit and replacing them with tainted syringes that were later used on patients.

Thirty-two Exeter Hospital patients have been found to have the same strain of the liver-destroying virus Kwiatkowski carries.

Exeter Hospital released a statement Thursday night on the decision.

"Exeter Hospital originally sought judicial guidance from the court because of the potential conflict between the state's public health investigation and the privacy rights of our patients. Today’s decision provides important guidance to both the hospital and the state, and will allow the hospital to further fulfill its obligations to the state's investigation and our patients. The court pointed out that the state needs to follow very specific, CDC-sanctioned protocols in collecting data from Exeter Hospital's electronic medical record system and can only obtain the minimum amount of information necessary to complete its investigation. The court has also emphasized that the information collected by the state cannot be re-published which helps to protect the privacy of patients. Exeter Hospital supports the court’s decision. We remain confident that seeking judicial guidance was the right thing to do on behalf of our patients. This is a complicated matter which requires a delicate balance between the state's rights and the legal and moral requirements hospitals have to protect patient privacy."

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